


Monty, heartburn and other stupid stories

by Mialienes



Series: Animal Shelter AU [2]
Category: Super Junior, Super Junior-M
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Plotless
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-30
Updated: 2014-11-30
Packaged: 2018-02-27 11:52:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2691956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mialienes/pseuds/Mialienes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kyuhyun and Zhou Mi spend time bonding. </p><p>With Monty.</p><p>And Kyuhyun keeps getting heartburn.</p><p>A fluffy plotless continuation of the animal shelter fic -<a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/1337011">Love, friendship and other inappropriate feelings</a>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Monty, heartburn and other stupid stories

Kyuhyun is tired. 

By the time he arrives home, all he wants to do is sit on his couch and watch some trashy TV to wind down. It had been his turn to work late at the animal shelter and his last appointment had been with one of his least favourite regulars: a snotty lady with a pedigree cat who both seem to hate Kyuhyun with a passion. 

Zhou Mi had been acting a bit weird all day, but with a full schedule, there hadn't been time for Kyuhyun to find out what was going on. Normally his boyfriend would say goodbye before leaving the shelter, but today he'd snuck out while Kyuhyun was with a client. 

Boyfriend. Hehee. The thought still makes Kyuhyun a little giddy. It's been eight months - well, eight months according to Zhou Mi's count, although Kyuhyun doesn't know if he considers that their anniversary - and it still gives him a thrill. Their relationship had taken such a convoluted path, and they'd been friends for so long that there had been moments when Kyuhyun doubted if they could ever be more. It had taken so much time for Kyuhyun to admit his feelings to himself, much less convince Zhou Mi that they could work together. Even now, it still takes work. They know each other inside and out, but there are still days when Kyuhyun gets annoyed at Zhou Mi, and vice versa, and they end up fighting. 

They always make up though, and _that_ almost makes any fighting worth it. 

As Kyuhyun opens the front door, he idly wonders if Zhou Mi is home already, and then stops short when he's greeted by an unexpected sight: a dog looking at him curiously. 

Kyuhyun and Zhou Mi don't own a dog. Kyuhyun blinks at it. It's a great dane / boxer cross, sitting upright on their couch like a king. 

Kyuhyun takes a step back, out of the apartment, closing the door in front of him with a firm click. 

He waits thirty seconds, takes a deep breath, and tries again. 

Nope. It's still the same. He's not hallucinating - there _is_ a 50 kg dog sitting on his couch. A dog that currently has its head tilted to one side, tongue hanging out one side of its mouth. "Wuff?"

"Zhou Mi!" Kyuhyun shouts. Why is he being greeted by a giant of a dog rather than his hopeless, bleeding heart of a boyfriend?

Zhou Mi enters from the other room, drying his hands on a small towel, interrupted in the middle of preparing dinner. "Hi honey! Welcome home!"

Oh don't you _hi honey_ me, Kyuhyun thinks. "What is that on our couch?"

Zhou Mi tilts his head at him, looking at him with an expression that says _I know you're speaking English but your words are incomprehensible._ "That's Monty. You know? From the shelter?" 

Kyuhyun takes another deep breath and counts to ten. "Why is Monty in my apartment?" 

Now he gets a frown from Zhou Mi, coupled with a pout. Oh god, no, Kyuhyun has to look away. He can't deal with that deadly combination. "YOUR apartment?" 

Kyuhyun knows that with just one misplaced word he's lost this battle. But he can't surrender _already_. He tries again, holding on tightly to his patience. "Why is Monty here and not at the shelter?"

Zhou Mi comes over to help Kyuhyun out of his coat. "Well, you know that the new part of the shelter is still being constructed." 

"Yes." 

"And you know that the shelter is full at the moment..."

A few months ago Zhou Mi purchased the building next door to increase the capacity of their shelter. The fit out of the new part is on schedule, but won't be completed for another few weeks. Until that's finished, there's no space for new residents unless they find homes for the existing ones. 

"Yes, and we agreed to start turning away animals." 

Zhou Mi pulls open the hallway closet to hang up Kyuhyun's coat. "Yeah, about that…"

Kyuhyun resists the urge to kick him. "Mi."

Zhou Mi pouts at the exasperated tone in Kyuhyun's voice. Kyuhyun can feel his annoyance disappearing as soon as the corners of Zhou Mi's lips turn down. "I can't, okay! Anyway, it was just one extra dog that came in today, so I thought Monty could hang out here for a while." 

Monty has been at the shelter for months now and they've been finding it hard to place him. t's not due to his personality - he's sweet, very friendly, and a bit dorky - it's just challenging to find a new home for such a large dog. He's currently stretched himself out on their couch, taking up the entire length. He's an attractive dog - his body and height taking after his Great Dane heritage. His tan colouring and face are all from the boxer side though - big droopy eyes, floppy ears and a black muzzle and jowls. He lets out a deep bark when he hears his name. "Wuff?" 

"Please?" Zhou Mi says, giving Kyuhyun his best pathetic expression. "I know I should've asked you first but I didn't think you'd mind that much…" He wanders over to the couch, draping himself over the dog, and they both look at Kyuhyun with pleading eyes. 

Kyuhyun throws his hands up in defeat. "Fine. But only one night," Kyuhyun says warningly. "He goes back tomorrow - I don't care how you make it happen, but he goes back. And he's not allowed in the bedroom." 

Zhou Mi jumps over and throws himself at Kyuhyun, planting kisses all over his face as Kyuhyun squirms in his hold. "Tomorrow," he agrees happily, adding, "And no bedroom. Love you!" 

 

*

 

Kyuhyun has never been a cuddler. It's not that he dislikes touching, it's just - cuddling? Kyuhyun is a grown man and cuddling is for other people. With previous boyfriends, he'd always been very clear - THIS is my side of the bed, and THAT is your side. And god forbid if they ever crossed that invisible line to touch him during the night. 

The only person (with the exception of his mother) he's ever willingly accepted cuddles from has been Zhou Mi, because, well - with Zhou Mi being an affectionate, touchy, person - trying to get him to change his nature was like making the sun orbit the earth. (And there was that whole fact of Kyuhyun having a crush on his best friend for ages and ages.)

Not that Kyuhyun would call himself a cuddler now that they've gotten together. But he can _maybe_ admit that they're not so bad when they're coming from his boyfriend. He's even gotten to the point of letting Zhou Mi be the big spoon every now and again.

In the morning when he wakes up, there's a cold nose buried in the back of Kyuhyun's neck, and a warm, familiar weight draped against him. Zhou Mi nuzzles him, giving him a brief lick, and at the feel of the wet tongue, Kyuhyun stiffens. 

"That's you, isn't it, Mi?" he says out loud, eyes still tightly closed.

"What's that, honey?" Zhou Mi asks him. 

"Please tell me that you're the one spooning me."

"Umm." There's a terribly long pause before Zhou Mi adds, "I'm the one spooning you." 

That's fine, Kyuhyun decides. He's going to ignore the fact that Zhou Mi's voice sounds like he's standing in the doorway rather than from behind him. 

There's a snuff and Kyuhyun resists the urge to jump out of bed and kill his boyfriend. 

"When I open my eyes, there better not be a dog in my bed," Kyuhyun says warningly. 

Kyuhyun can feel the bed dip behind him, and there's silence for a moment. Kyuhyun adds, in his most threatening tone, "I love you, but if I find out you're standing there taking a photo, I WILL cut your balls off."

There's a suspicious clatter, which sounds _a little_ like a phone being hastily dropped on the bedside table. 

And then a whisper. "Come on Monty. Come here boy!" 

Something licks at Kyuhyun's neck again. Kyuhyun takes a deep, deep breath. 

"Wuff?" 

"GET HIM OUT OF HERE."

"I'm trying!" Zhou Mi whines. "You try forcing him to move. He's the size of a small horse." 

Kyuhyun is about to lose his shit. "OUT!" Okay, nevermind _about to_ \- he _has_ lost his shit.

"Wuff!!!"

"ZHOU MI. HE LEAVES TODAY. YOU HEAR ME?"

"Wuff??"

 

*

 

Kyuhyun sprawls over the counter in front of Ryeowook, banging his forehead on the hard surface. Bueller, the clinic ferret, chatters and climbs into his hair, but Kyuhyun is so tired he can't muster up the energy to stop him. 

"You look like shit," Ryeowook says, poking Kyuhyun's cheek with a pen. "Not sleeping well?" Ryeowook is on reception duty while Henry takes a break, and Kyuhyun is there waiting for his next client. 

Kyuhyun groans. How did his life come to this? 

"It's because you're completely whipped," Ryeowook tells him matter of factly, tapping away at the computer. "What happened to Monty only staying for one night?"

Oh yeah that. Kyuhyun isn't _completely_ sure how it happened, but somehow Monty only staying for one night, and Monty not being allowed in the bedroom, has translated to Monty staying for a week, and Monty sleeping in their bed, snuggling in between them like an overgrown baby. One that farts and snorts and wriggles and is as hot as a furnace. 

"I'm not whipped!" Kyuhyun protests, lifting his head. Bueller slides off, letting out an affronted squeak. "It's just that Zhou Mi does this pouty frowny thing with his face - you've seen it! - and I can't say no." 

"And that would be the textbook definition of whipped." 

The problem is, Zhou Mi is so _appreciative_ that Kyuhyun isn't forcing Monty out and it's not like Zhou Mi ever really asks him for much. And Monty, even though he's a gigantic, drooly mess of a dog, has an incredibly sweet, gentle nature and Kyuhyun really (secretly) likes him. 

Also, both Zhou Mi and Monty are experts at giving puppy dog eyes, and whenever they turn it on, all of Kyuhyun's resolve crumbles like sand. 

Fuck my life, Kyuhyun thinks as he comes to a sad realisation. He is whipped. 

 

*

 

Monty sits on the floor, head on his paws, watching the front door intently before letting out a pathetic whine, eyebrows raising one after the other. 

"Monty! Come here!" 

Monty raises his head to look at him, before lowering it back on his paws and letting out a deep sigh. Normally Monty accompanies Zhou Mi to and from the shelter, but tonight Zhou Mi had asked Kyuhyun to take him as he was meeting Heechul after work. Upon arriving home, Monty immediately plopped himself down by the front door to wait. 

"Jeez, you big sook. Come here. He'll be home soon." Kyuhyun pats the couch next to him and Monty jumps up immediately, draping his paws over Kyuhyun's lap, and pushing his head into Kyuhyun's shoulder. "When Zhou Mi comes home, this stays between us, you understand?" Kyuhyun tells him. "Don't tell him we snuggled."

"Wuff!" Monty wags his tail in acknowledgement. 

"Stupid dog," Kyuhyun says, ignoring the little bubble of affection as Monty tries to climb further into his lap. "You smell awful. Did Zhou Mi give you chicken again?" 

The stupid dog doesn't even realise he's being insulted, he's just happy that Kyuhyun is talking to him. He gives Kyuhyun cheek a big lick before settling down.

Kyuhyun doesn't realise he's fallen asleep until he's been shaken gently. 

"Eeraajdh?" 

"Hey," Zhou Mi whispers. "Come to bed, it's late." 

Kyuhyun realises that he'd fallen asleep on the couch with Monty snoring and draped all over him. Kyuhyun shifts experimentally and decides - yep, he has definitely lost all feeling in his legs. 

"You two look really cute together," Zhou Mi says with a smile, stroking a hand down Monty's back, who wakes up with a snuffling grunt, blowing bad doggy breath into Kyuhyun's face. Monty perks up when he realises Zhou Mi is home, clambering off Kyuhyun ungracefully to flop at Zhou Mi's feet, looking up at him adoringly. 

'Huh," Kyuhyun mutters darkly. It's obvious where Monty's allegiances lie. "I'm just a poor replacement for your real favourite, hey?" he says to the dog. 

"Wuff!" Monty agrees, eyes sparkling from his place next to Zhou Mi. 

"Aww, did you miss me baby?" Zhou Mi says as he reaches down to pet him, Monty's eyes closing in bliss. 

Stupid dog, Kyuhyun thinks. I don't like you either. 

 

*

 

"I know you've been really unhappy about Monty staying here," Zhou Mi says one morning. They're all in the kitchen - Kyuhyun is half asleep and barely keeping himself upright at the table, Zhou Mi is at the bench by the toaster, and Monty is sitting by his feet intently tracking Zhou Mi's every movement. 

Unhappy? Why on Earth would Kyuhyun be unhappy? There's a giant dog living in their apartment who drools and sheds and spoons him every night. Why would he be unhappy???

Zhou Mi finishes spreading peanut butter on the toast and shoves a piece in Kyuhyun's mouth, telling him reproachfully, "You're very sarcastic in the morning." He gives the second piece of toast to Monty, petting him affectionately as the dog scoffs it down in two bites, barely pausing to chew. 

"Anyway, you'll be happy to know that I've found a new home for him." Zhou Mi makes goo goo eyes at the dog, and Monty's tail thumps against the floor. 

Kyuhyun stops chewing. "What? Monty's leaving?" He rubs at his chest. What _is_ that feeling? Surely it can't be… disappointment? 

Nah, Kyuhyun decides. It's probably heartburn. 

"Don't talk with your mouth full. But yes, Monty is being adopted. Exciting, right!" He leans down to coo at Monty. "Though I'll be sad to see you go, won't I baby?" Monty lets out a short bark, wriggling ecstatically at the attention.

Kyuhyun swallows his toast with a gulp. "Who's taking Monty? Have you checked them out? Are they trustworthy? Do they know that Monty has special needs? He gets lonely during the night, and he's scared of cats, and chicken gives him flatulence. Are you SURE they'll know how to take care of him?"

Zhou Mi stops petting Monty and gives him a weird look. "Of course. I thought you'd be happy?"

"I am!" He is. Really. "I just want to ensure that he'll be taken care of," Kyuhyun finishes weakly. 

Monty leaves Zhou Mi's side, trotting over to Kyuhyun. He plops his big head on Kyuhyun's lap and whines softly. Kyuhyun recognises the pitch of that particular whine - he wants the spot behind his ears scratched - and he rubs the top of his head gently. 

Zhou Mi finishes his breakfast and takes his plate to the dishwasher. "I'm going to head in a bit early today, I need to meet the builders. I'll see you at work?"

"Sure," Kyuhyun says, still idly scratching Monty's ears. 

"Ready to go, Monty?" Zhou Mi asks.

"Oh! I'll take him in today," Kyuhyun interjects. "I mean, he'll just get in the way" 

Zhou Mi gives him another weird look. "Okay. I'll see you later then." He leans down and gives him a quick kiss, and Monty a pat on the head. 

After he's gone, Monty looks up at Kyuhyun with his big eyes. "Wuff?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'll miss you. But don't tell Zhou Mi, okay?"

Monty wriggles, a big blob of drool falling from his mouth and landing on the floor. "Wuff!" 

 

*

 

Monty licks Kyuhyun's cheek, tail thumping on the ground as he wags it happily. 

Monty's new owner has stopped by the shelter to pick him up, and Kyuhyun is saying a final goodbye. Zhou Mi said his farewell earlier, and after lots of whimpering (on Zhou Mi's side), he's now hidden himself away in his office, unable to bear watching Monty leave for good. 

"Be a good boy, okay?" Kyuhyun tells Monty, hugging him tightly. He would never say this to Zhou Mi, but maaaaaybe he's become a _tiny_ bit attached while Monty has been with them. 

"Wuff!" 

Kyuhyun, a little grudgingly, hands the leash over to Monty's new owner. "He likes kisses and belly rubs, and he gets scared at night by himself. He's good with kids, but you'll need to watch him because he doesn't know how large he is. Don't feed him chicken, and don't let him drink from the toilet because he'll make a complete mess. He's a good traveller in the car but only if he's sitting in the front seat." Kyuhyun racks his brains for anything else he needs to pass on. "He loves water, so watch out for puddles when you take him for walks." 

"I'll take good care of him, I promise," Monty's new owner says reassuringly, not looking freaked out at the word vomit that Kyuhyun just spewed at her. 

After a couple of signatures, and some more panicked last minute advice from Kyuhyun, Monty finally leaves with his new owner - walking out the door without even a backwards glance. 

Kyuhyun sighs and rubs his chest. Stupid dogs and stupid emotions and stupid heartburn. Stupid, stupid, stupid. 

 

*

 

"We should do something special to commemorate the occasion," Zhou Mi states in the break room at their monthly meeting. "Like, a ribbon cutting ceremony or something." The construction of the second half of the shelter has finally finished. That morning Zhou Mi did a final inspection with the builders, signing off the work, and he's been excited all day, running around the clinic beaming. Kyuhyun is tired out just from watching him. 

"Or we could let one of the dogs piss in the corner," Kyuhyun says dryily. 

"Kyu." 

Kyuhyun shrugs, unrepentant. "It's going to happen anyway."

"I like the ribbon cutting idea," Ryeowook interrupts. Kyuhyun gives him a _'you traitor'_ look. "We could try and get some media out about adoptions at the same time." 

"Yes!" Zhou Mi and Ryeowook begin to brainstorm ideas while Kyuhyun makes a dent in the pizza. He's chewing and contemplating the meaning of life (42) when he suddenly tunes back into their conversation. 

"- a fete! We could have face painting and balloons and clowns!"

"No clowns," Kyuhyun mumbles, his mouth full. Kyuhyun hates them. The last time he went to the fair with Zhou Mi, back when they were still just friends, a clown followed them around the entire venue. It was creepy as fuck - something resembling a B grade horror movie where the main characters get gruesomely murdered in the last act. 

It turned out that the clown was after Zhou Mi's phone number, and Zhou Mi, the idiot, gave it to him. They only went on one date, during which Zhou Mi figured out he was super weird (he was a CLOWN, of course he was), and Kyuhyun had to come and rescue him. 

Kyuhyun really hates clowns. 

"And a bake sale and a photo booth and -"

Kyuhyun puts his hand in front of Zhou Mi's mouth, who falls silent, finally taking a breath as he blinks at Kyuhyun. This always happens when Zhou Mi starts to plan things. He becomes incredibly excited with tons of ideas, and everything balloons into a gigantic, enormous event. Inevitably Zhou Mi becomes a mountain of stress as he attempts to juggle a thousand things, and a stressed Zhou Mi means a stressed Kyuhyun and stressed Ryeowook and stressed Henry and it's unhappiness all around. 

"Calm down there," Kyuhyun tells him. "Just cut a ribbon, that's all you need. Nothing else." 

Zhou Mi's bottom lip sticks out a little, looking crestfallen. "Oh… can I have giant scissors?" 

"Fine," Kyuhyun relents. "You can have giant scissors."

Zhou Mi puts his head on Kyuhyun's shoulder, giving him his best puppy dog eyes. "Balloons?"

Kyuhyun supposes that's reasonable. "Okay…"

"Shaped like dogs?" 

Kyuhyun gives him an _'are you kidding?'_ look. "How about normal balloons?" 

"...in the shape of cats?"

Ryeowook watches their exchange with amusement. "You know you're going to give in, Kyu," he tells him, opening the pizza box to see if there's anything left after Kyuhyun's attack on it. "Cos you're whipped," he coughs. 

Kyuhyun gives him his best _'I will kill you in your sleep'_ glare. "Ribbon cutting, normal balloons, nothing else," Kyuhyun says sternly to Zhou Mi. There's a twinge of pain in his chest at Zhou Mi's dejected pout. Damn heartburn. "Fine, and a photobooth for people to take pictures with their new pets. That's it."

Zhou Mi perks up, grinning. "Photos! Photobooth! Oh we need props! We should get mustaches and glasses and hats and whiskers and wigs, and you'll take photos with me, right Kyu?" 

"Whipped," Ryeowook mouths at him, so gleeful that he doesn't even wince when Kyuhyun kicks him in the shin under the table. 

 

*

 

"Nice photo," Henry comments as he's clicking through them, stopping on a certain one.

"Shut up."

"Was it your idea to wear the cat ears?"

"Shut UP." 

Henry moves on to the next photo. "Ohoho I particularly like this one." 

"Wasn't it nice of Monty's owner to bring him in?" Zhou Mi says as he comes up behind Kyuhyun, wrapping his arms around his waist in a backhug. Kyuhyun can feel him smile against his neck. "I like that one too." 

In the photo, Kyuhyun is in the middle of the frame, cat ears on the top of his head, with Zhou Mi on one side and Monty on the other. The camera caught the exact moment that Kyuhyun scrunched his face up in equal parts disgust and joy, thanks to Zhou Mi kissing one cheek and Monty licking the other. Who even knew that a face could make such an odd expression?

"I'm going to print it out and frame it," Zhou Mi decides, giving Kyuhyun a squeeze. "Wasn't it good to see Monty? He's doing so well." Zhou Mi sways from side to side in happiness, making Kyuhyun rock with his movement. 

Kyuhyun does have to admit that it was good to see Monty. The stupid dog had been so pleased to see them that he'd pretty much left an entire bucket of slobber all over both of them. The ribbon cutting ceremony had gone well too - Kyuhyun had managed to find super giant scissors for Zhou Mi to do the official cutting. The media leading up to the event - along with the bake sale (okay, Kyuhyun had given in on one more thing) - had brought a ton of visitors through the shelter. They might have even set a new record for highest number of adoptions in one day. 

"It was good having Monty around, wasn't it?" Zhou Mi says. "We should foster another animal. It really helps to socialise them."

Wait. What. Kyuhyun twists to face him. "No. No fostering." 

Zhou Mi continues on, as if Kyuhyun hadn't spoken. "Should we foster a cat next? Although, hmmm… what about Hugo, the German Shepherd that came in last week? He could use some time away from the shelter."

Henry is snickering loudly from behind his computer, not even pretending that he's doing anything other than laughing at Kyuhyun's misery. 

"Oh Henry," Zhou Mi beams at him. "You should foster an animal too." 

Kyuhyun is satisfied to see how quickly Henry's smile is wiped clean off his face. "What?! No, I'm - um - no. I mean, I can't."

"You don't have much space in your apartment, so we won't give you the German Shepherd. What about the Jack Russell? Yes, that's great!" Zhou Mi enthuses, ignoring Henry's wide eyed protests. "Your shift is finishing soon right? I'll go get him ready." He trots off out the back before Henry can respond.

"Hah. Hahahahahaha." 

"Shut up, Kyuhyun," Henry tells him. 

"Hahahahahahahaha." 

Henry slouches down, grumpy. "Yeah, well, you're going to end up fostering the German Shepherd so nnnneeehhhh."

Oh yeah. That. That cuts off Kyuhyun's laughter, and he's about to join Henry in his slouchy grumpiness when Zhou Mi returns. 

"Kyu, can you come and help me?" Zhou Mi grabs his hand, pulling him out of reception and down the corridor to his office. 

"What is it?" Kyuhyun asks as Zhou Mi shuts the door. 

"I just wanted to say thanks." He leans down, capturing Kyuhyun's lips in a kiss - soft and sweet, sending warmth flooding through Kyuhyun. When they finally part, Zhou Mi pulls away to smile down at him fondly. "Thank you for everything - for helping today, for looking after Monty with me, for being you. I love you so much." 

Kyuhyun is goo. A tall pile of goo. He doesn't know why he bothers lying to himself, why he pretends that he wouldn't do anything for this man. "I love you too," he tells Zhou Mi, basking in the feeling for a moment before pulling him back for another kiss. He decides to give up fighting and just go along for the ride. "Let's get Hugo," he says, and he's answered by a radiant smile on Zhou Mi's face. 

"You will LOVE him, I promise," Zhou Mi tells him as they leave his office together, walking towards the kennels. 

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Kyuhyun says, a little dismissively, but he thinks, _'I love you and that's all that matters'_.


End file.
